Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has signed an offtake term sheet with industrial catalyst manufacturer FeMoCat for the sale of high-purity manganese sulphate and a process by-product, magnesium carbonate, from the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic.
Under the agreement, the pricing in the term sheet is designed to meet the project’s debt finance banking covenants.
Both companies intend to enter an offtake agreement, in which the pricing mechanism and tonnages will become binding.
Euro Manganese, which has a market capitalisation of $20.53 million, says the offtake tonnages represent a portion of the Chvaletice Project’s planned high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) production.
Further, magnesium carbonate is a by-product produced at Chvaletice from the purification of HPMSM, and a tonnage of magnesium carbonate offtake is also included in the term sheet.
CEO Matthew James says the demand for the company’s high-purity products from Chvaletic continues to accelerate with companies recognising the impending deficit and securing their requirements via an offtake term sheet.
“The fact that FeMoCat requires locally sourced products for their existing operations in Pardubice, and potential for increased tonnages as they evaluate new opportunities, demonstrates the value of having a resource in the heart of Europe,” James says.
“Furthermore, the ability to provide FeMoCat with a valuable magnesium carbonate feedstock, from one of the project’s by-products, underscores both companies’ commitments to maximising process efficiency and circularity.
“We look forward to supplying FeMoCat with fully traceable, responsible produced products and are proud to be partnering with a company who shares our ambition of seeking to reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in their processes and is focussing on reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency and recycling products, which is at the core of our values.”
Euro Manganese says deliveries are to begin from the first production for an initial seven-year term with potential for renewals. The initial term will begin subject to qualifications of the company’s HPMSM and magnesium carbonate by FeMoCat.
The qualification process will begin with samples from the project’s demonstration plant.
FeMoCat CEO Tommy Heino says this offtake secures raw materials from a local source for the company’s expansion at Semtinzone in Pardubice and for catalysts and synthetic hydrotalcite production.
“Synthetic hydrotalcites can be used for multiple downstream applications, and we foresee 4,000 tonnes per year of production,” Heino says.
“FeMoCat will also provide the products from Euro Manganese to FeMoCat’s partners and service clients.”
FeMoCat is a global provider of catalysts for the manufacturing of commodity organic chemicals, including formaldehyde, aniline, and volatile organic compounds. The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
Euro Manganese is a battery materials company focused on becoming a producer of high-purity manganese for the EV industry. The company is advancing the development of its Chvaletice Project, as well as an early-stage opportunity to produce battery grade manganese products in Québec, Canada.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Euro Manganese
